April 16, 2023

why
do i only feel ‘good’ at something
when i’m in enough to know
the difference between
solid and not
and i’m early enough to not put undue pressure
on myself—-
but the minute i might add the label ‘professional’
i lose all self-perspective/
expect myself to be
miles better
than where i started

but i’m only me
i can only act where i’ve been
i can only write of what i know
and only let the words flow as they go
and i can’t force anything in emotional expression

so please
(i beg of myself)
let me be
and let me be me
and don’t expect perfection
because it isn’t a real thing
(and it never has been,
but that’s a lesson
for another
poem)

April 15, 2023

trying
to be writing
with music playing
(words wording up the place)
(but such good words
you know?)

my focus is split
(even more than usual)
and i can’t reread what i’ve already written
to see if it flows
spits
fits and starts
start me towards a real poem
one of these days
two of these days
three four, that’s all i need
to concentrate on one solid slam
of a poem written down
picked up
spat out
at an open mic
or recorded for those who truly see me
every week
(i miss that)
(i feel weak for missing that)
(but there’s no need to self-judge—
you’ve done that far more than enough)

and the most interesting part
of writing
with words
flowing behind my mind
is that i find myself rhyming with the phrasing i’m hearing
rather than the phrases i’m writing
and i don’t know if any of this
will make any sense
but i’m kinda digging
this
split-focus
un-re-read
rhyming with words you won’t hear
if you’re just reading this poem here
kinda vibe

April 2, 2023

my goodness…

there are gorgeous sentiments
sentences/phrases
in nearly every poem i write
but the whole does not contain more than
the sum of its parts
[not yet]
and i just want to say
‘i wrote this entire poem’
with pride
instead of pointing to pieces
and trying to piece together
my whole heart

March 10, 2023

writing
but maybe not poetry
(and defs not in the morning)
but here i am, a good little enby
making up for lost hours
writing post-writing
into the document
which will then adjust
and edit
and make it into the wordpress
and then be released unto the [virtual] world
all so i can keep up a streak
/
feel accomplished at something
/
feel more at home in my brain
/
express and share and maybe give y’all something to think about
/
probably other reasons as well

so i guess i’ll leave this here/there
[this un-poem poem]
and go

March 3, 2023

my heart points me towards
the poems i want to write
sometimes i need to just place down
some gibberish at the beginning of a document
to let my heart lead me where it needs
but it always leads me
somewhere

but when my brain wants to poetize about something
and the heart is not at all aligned
every word feels false,
every metaphor forced,
and i leave wondering if i actually
did more damage to the subject
than honor and love and art

i suppose this just means that
poetry, even my own, was always
a heart-driven/emotional act
(and the overthinking can just
stay away while i write,
please!)

February 27, 2023

slant rhymes
sidelines
within this line the image aligns
too obvious
too salacious
too heavy-handed to be a poem by my hand
but here i am
writing just for writing’s sake
opening my soul to a computer screen
to see what
(if anything)
takes